After Merton employs his help in translation of some Spanish poems, Hernán Lavín Cerda tells Merton how much he likes some of his work and sends Merton some poems. Lavín Cerda began asking Merton questions related to the cultural exchange between the United States and Latin America. He published Merton's answers in the September 15, 1967 issue of Punto Final (Santiago, Chile). See the item below dated 1967/08/12[2], which is a copy of the reprint from The Merton Annual. Original manuscripts of the article are in the Merton Center's collection (see Sub-Section E.1 of the classification).

Hernán Lavín Cerda is a poet who was born in Chile in 1939. Merton first contacts him in 1965, regarding some help he sought in regard to the translation of some poems. Lavín Cerda had to flee Chile after the military coup of 1973 and settled in Mexico City as a professor. He continued to write poetry and published a number of volumes. (Source: The Courage for Truth, p. 204.)

[Merton responded in English to a number of questions Lavín Cerda posed to him and seemingly attached the response to this letter, but that response is not extant - it was reprinted in The Merton Annual, Vol. 2, 1989 and included is a photocopy of Merton's answers]
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[black and white aerial photograph of Lavín Cerda's home in Chile - he has marked with a 1 and 2 in pen on the photo over areas where there is a chapel and a good place for a hermit - labeled "042"]
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